Breaking: Barclays buys Bitcoin!

A federal judge decided to halt a lawsuit involving 18 state attorneys general and a decentralized finance lobbyist group against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, in light of the SEC’s new leadership.

The state attorneys general, who are all Republicans, filed the lawsuit alongside the DeFi Education Fund in November following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election. They claimed that the SEC had overstepped its authority by suing crypto exchanges. In a recent filing, the SEC hinted that the new agency chair, Paul Atkins, could bring an end to the legal action.

The judge instructed the parties to submit a joint status report within 30 days and paused all deadlines for 60 days.

Initially, the lawsuit argued that the SEC’s enforcement actions were encroaching on the jurisdiction of state regulators over digital asset firms in their respective states. The lawsuit highlighted the different regulatory approaches taken by states to oversee digital assets, emphasizing the need for clear and manageable regulatory frameworks.

Congress is anticipated to address market structure legislation pertaining to federal regulators’ oversight of crypto this year, with key committees already conducting hearings on the matter.

Meanwhile, the SEC has dropped investigations and lawsuits against more than a dozen companies and put lawsuits against others on hold.

In a separate development, a lawsuit filed by the DeFi Education Fund, the Texas Blockchain Council, and the Blockchain Association against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was also withdrawn. This lawsuit contested the IRS’ DeFi broker rule as exceeding the agency’s authority.

Last week, President Trump signed a resolution nullifying the IRS’ DeFi broker rule under the Congressional Review Act, marking his first legislative action related to crypto as president. Following this development, the parties involved in the lawsuit stated that the legal action had become “moot” and no longer necessary.

The highly anticipated Beast Games delivered an incredible $25,019,995 in total prize money—but after taxes, the grand prize winner of $10 million will only take home $5.03 million.

Why such a massive cut? Winners of large cash prizes are subject to federal and state taxes, which can eat up nearly half of their winnings. Here’s how it breaks down:

• Federal Taxes: The IRS taxes lottery and game show winnings at a top rate of 37%, reducing the payout significantly.
• State Taxes: Depending on the winner’s state, additional taxes can take another 0-13% off the total.

Here’s a breakdown of how much each player in Beast Games won of the $25,019,995.00 they gave away (starting from winner to the last player):

Top Winners:

$ 10,004,242
$ 4,200,000
$ 1,800,000
$ 1,000,000
$ 650,000
$ 450,000
$ 236,878
$ 200,000
$ 190,000
$ 100,000
$ 100,000
$ 100,000

Other Major Payouts:
$ 80,000
$ 80,000
$ 80,000
$ 80,000
$ 80,000
$ 50,000
$ 50,000
$ 50,000
$ 50,000
$ 50,000
$ 50,000
$ 20,000
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 19,231
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 13,888
$ 7,439.50
$ 6,439.50
$ 5,000
$ 2,000.00 to all 2,000 contestants
— Grand Total: $25,019,995.00

The Reality of Winning Big Prizes

While winning millions sounds like a dream, tax deductions can turn a $10M jackpot into half that amount. Even other winners saw significant reductions after taxes.

Still, Beast Games was one of the biggest giveaways in internet history—proving once again that MrBeast knows how to take gaming and entertainment to the next level.

ould you still compete knowing the tax cut? Let us know in the comments!

Citigroup intended to transfer $280 to a client but somehow ended up crediting them $81 trillion.

It took three employees a full 90 minutes to spot the blunder and undo it.

No cash actually left the bank, but seriously—$81 trillion?

Turns out, the glitch stemmed from a system preloaded with 15 zeros, requiring manual input.

Citi’s no stranger to slip-ups—slapped with a $136M fine in 2024 and $400M in 2020 for shaky risk management.

Maybe it’s time someone double-checks their math.

Source: Insider Paper